The great offset to oven brisket experiment

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nullbitz

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 2, 2019
Location
Los Angeles
Name or Nickame
Jim
I finally got my offset this week (LSG 20x42) and I'm ready to do some brisket experiments that match the fact I'm a weak man who loves his sleep but wants that delicious offset flavor.

I've read about every offset to oven thread on here (thanks SmokeNinja and PittmasterT) so my game plan is derived from standing on the shoulders of others. Also, my reading on all the popular BBQ pit joints indicate long hold times = better.

Ultimate Desired Outcome:
Start a brisket the night before I want to serve it on my offset and then transfer to the oven around 10/11pm and have it rested and ready to start slicing between 5-6pm the next day for dinner without it going below 140 degrees.

Starting Game Plan:
Commit to up to 10 prime brisket cooks to experiment with to dial in the #'s on my setup.

3pm Start Fire, get pit up to 225

4pm Brisket on (salt/pepper)

10pm Wrap in butcher paper and brisket in the oven at 200 (I've graphed the temp swings of my oven and it's generally 20 degrees. So at 200 it will go up to 220 and then cool back to 200). I will put a probe in the flat and point and set an alarm for 200 degrees so that if it hits before I wake up I can start probing for doneness

6am (assuming, could be way earlier or later) Pull Brisket from oven, vent open paper for 30 minutes
6:30am Place is cooler and wrap with towels, keep a probe in to graph temp drops. Burp the cooler every 1-2 hours.

Let the brisket rest until the temp drops to 145 degrees. Note the time and remaining time until 5pm.

If the Brisket makes it to 5pm then I'm golden, I know pounds, time, temps. I assume however that it will reach 145F way before then so I will note how many additional hours of hold time I'd need at 145 to hit my goal.

If I can't get the Brisket cooler rested to hold above 140 until then I have two knobs I see:

1. Get a bigger Brisket, increase pounds of brisket to force a longer cook
2. Invest in a heated holding cabinet that holds 140 degrees (Cambro/Alto Shaam)

I'm optimizing for quality and sleep so I'm willing to invest what it takes.

The variables I can play with are:

Size of brisket
Temp on initial offset cook
Temp on oven cook (I have a min of 185 on my oven and pellet grill)
Measure pellet grill temps to see if there's less variability than the oven
Length of cooler hold
Length of heated cabinet hold


If this is of interest to any other sleep lovers I'd be happy to post results here and would love any feedback on the game plan I have outlined in case I missed something or could improve on any of the experiments.


thanks and let's get smoking!
 
The best laid plans of men and mice ........... or something to that effect.


I appreciate how you've planned this cook, I do the same thing. But invariably, something happens that alters the entire plan ....... its sort've like war plans, they're great until the first shot is fired and then all goes kaput.
 
You have studied a lot. I like the roaster oven hold suggestion above as I have a roaster oven I never use. Plan seems to be a good starting point. I don't sleep well when I have something cooking though, so I wouldn't plan on a good nights sleep.
 
My method is about exactly as described. I will hold in the oven at 170 for a few hours before going into the cooler. That buys me a bit of time. Also, you aren't in danger of food poisoning if you go under 140. You may just need to warm it up before serving. It's cooked, all the bad bacteria are dead.

Also make sure your oven doesn't have a safety timer that shuts it off after a certain time. My gas oven shuts off after 4 hours. I had no idea.
 
Good luck on coming up with a method that is both enjoyable and repeatable.

I few things of note:

I've found 6 hrs on the smoker is about right. Go until at least the bark is to your liking.
Paper wrap low temp finish, the turkey roaster is perfect for this.
With this method I find brisket probes tender under 200, start checking at 190.
At 200 cook temp there's no need to vent, you can just go straight to holding temps of 150 or so
 
Yes 6 hr on a traditional offset seems to be about perfect bark. I usually start spritzing after a couple hrs. (Don't spritz the fat)

I have had briskets that dropped to 140 2-3 hrs before serving. I usually throw them back in the oven on low and warm them up a bit then back in the cooler once they hit 145 internal. That's usually enough to get me to the finish line.

I will be very interested to see your progress. As you've stated, the size of the brisket is paramount. You need to weight AFTER you trim to get good data.

You may find with a 16 lb trimmed brisket finishing in the oven at 200 doesn't give you sufficient rest time. I recommend at minimum 4hrs, preferably 6 or more. The fix for this would be to raise oven temp or start earlier. Starting earlier for me on a Friday doesn't work. I think 225 is about ideal for oven finish.

Excited to see your results!
 
The turkey roaster idea is genius. I have a circa 1950s Westinghouse roaster that would fit the biggest brisket out there.

The one issue I have with finishing the brisket in the house oven is the smell. Granted it smells awesome but it is almost overpowering. Next brisket I do this way is going to be finished in my turkey roaster on the back patio or in the garage if super cold outside. As an added bonus it's lowest set temp is 150. Will have to probe test that temp but that would be perfect.

Genius I tells ya!
 
Just a thought.

Depending on the size of your cooler, when it gets cooled down to the point you are worrying, you could introduce a vessel of boiled water to the cooler and maintain heat/moisture. That could buy you a couple of extra hours holding 145-ish
 
question: "I usually start spritzing after a couple hrs. (Don't spritz the fat)"

Most who run offsets (reportedly) go Fat side up on briskets- how would you spritz and NOT hit the fat?
 
great tips everyone, much appreciated! The turkey roaster is a great idea! I just started looking at it looks like you can set it at 150 which should be perfect for a long hold.

I'll have to run a temp gauge in it and chart how much that 150 fluctuates in a turkey roaster. I know the alto shams are supposed to be within a few degrees of variability, my oven is 20 degrees measured.
 
Last edited:
nullbitz said:
on the turkey roaster tip, would you want to move it from the offset to the turkey roaster, set that at 225 and then when it probes tender, let it rest out of the roaster for a few hours, then move it back to hold in the roaster at 150 ish?

Edit: I just ordered the Oster model that seemed to have the best reviews
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CQLJESK/ref=crt_ewc_img_dp_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Click to expand...

I dont vent, go straight from cooking to holding. Try and catch it early and hold to finish. Very little carryover at these low temps.
 
I decided to do some temp tests on the new roaster to see how it held and what temp variances I should expect. I kept the probe in the air, above the wire rack where the meat would be resting.

As you can see in the chart below setting it at 150 was actually over 200 degrees internally. A bit of dialing in all day gave me my final desired resting place of 150 degrees internal. I'd say the temp dial is a ways off and might be worth calibrating in case they vary.

The good news is once you set a temp this thing seems to be rock solid within a few degrees so I'm hopeful it will act as a poor man's alto shaam.

UqSSF6S.png


HxRHr5R.png
 
Last edited:
You’re way overthinking this. Wake up at normal time, light your fire, trim/season brisket, put brisket on pit, cook at 300-325, wrap whenever you feel like it, pull brisket in about 5 hours when it’s done, let it rest on counter for an hour, put it in a cooler until you’re ready to eat.
 
I use this method on low and slow thanks to smoke ninja. I’ve also started playing around with hot and fast. Both seem to give similar results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jrogers84 said:
I use this method on low and slow thanks to smoke ninja. I’ve also started playing around with hot and fast. Both seem to give similar results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I think low finishes and long holds can be beneficial for beginners. it just makes the whole deal fool proof. hot and fast can be just as good but it does put more on the cook to catch the timing right.

I use my standard long hold for brisket meant for earlier service or if I have a busy day planned. this whole concept was intended to take the stress of a cook off a d get sleep when using offset. for later service I just start in the morning and cook hot, it's not bad once you get the feel of it.
 
luke duke said:
You’re way overthinking this. Wake up at normal time, light your fire, trim/season brisket, put brisket on pit, cook at 300-325, wrap whenever you feel like it, pull brisket in about 5 hours when it’s done, let it rest on counter for an hour, put it in a cooler until you’re ready to eat.
Click to expand...

Nah man. I know how to cook a same day brisket. I’m trying to perfect a method for the days I can’t do a same day.
 
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